Riding For Pride
by ShankWrite
Summary: Two riders have come a long way to Japan to train in their skills but run into some serious trouble. They receive help from Kogarasumaru against a hard team from the Southern Hemisphere //some swearing with Agito
1. Wrong Place, wrong time

In Tokyo, it was just an ordinary day. People were going about their business as usual. Even at an abandoned factory complex where two AT teams were having a friendly tournament against each other, there was nothing out of place. They were both D Class teams and were giving their less experienced riders some training with some F Class events. All seemed well until the riders noticed something. Over on the barrier, were two people watching them battle. When everyone came to notice it, everyone was interested in who was coming to watch such a low class event.

One of the riders that was headstrong put his hand up when nobody else did, "I'll go over and check it out." He rode over to see who was there and what was going on. As he got closer he could tell by the way they were dressed and by the look of them that they were not from the area-in fact they were not even from Japan. "Can I help you both?" he said to the mysterious strangers that were there watching. They looked back and smiled, not a menacing smile-but a calm one. "No we are fine thanks, we are just watching". They were definitely not Japanese and they were not American either. "Where are you from?"

"Australia, just here to do a little training in our AT skills." The Japanese rider smiled and called out to the rest of his team to come over. He liked the idea of these two being alone and he couldn't help himself from what he was going to do. When the rest of the team showed up and circled the two Australians he asked them, "If you are here for training, then why not battle us?"

"No we would prefer to watch for the moment."

The whole gang laughed, it seemed that a tasty treat had just wandered aimlessly into their den without any kind of knowledge for group boundaries and considering the situation, they were not going to let them go without feeding first. "So you are in a team back home?"

"Yes-Westside Magpies."

"Magpies?"

"It is a bird we have back home." By now the other team taking part in the friendly matches came over and one of the people went up to the other. "How about we let these guys go? After all this day is about our young riders."

The rider got a little angry at this and snapped back, "It isn't for you to decide, we don't attack you out of mere respect from our history but you do not determine who we battle and who we do not." It seemed nothing was going to help the innocent tourists, even if they had only come to watch.

When they realised they were in trouble and that things were a little serious they began looking for a way out. The shorter one of the two looked around at all the riders circling him. He put his head down and the AT gang knew he was whispering something. In that moment one of the riders charged in hoping to catch them off guard but was taken down somehow. Nobody saw what just happened and the two tourist riders used this opportunity to take off at a surprising speed. The gang immediately began chasing them as they laughed and cheered at how they ran away from battle also knowing they didn't know where they were going and would surely be captured soon. One of the fastest riders in the team took it upon himself to zoom ahead passed his team and stop the two tourists. He got within inches of them and once again without anybody seeing what happened-he was taken out from a shot knocking him down. With the momentum he had from the speed he had going forwards, he rolled for a few metres doing enormous damage to his body and leaving him unable to chase anymore. The rest of the team stopped for a moment, they had just seen one of their better riders taken down from a shot they hadn't even seen and realised these guys had a few tricks up their sleeve after all. It only got them more fired up to finish their chase.

"Do you think we will lose them?" One of the Australians said to the other as they were riding as fast as they could.

"I don't think so, your shot bought us a little time though. We should probably hide rather than navigate our way to someone that could help, there is also the fact that I am not as fast as you and you are not as fit as me so we are only going to hold each other back."

"You're probably right. Thanks for giving me the opening to that shot and thanks for letting me know which one was going to attack first-I still love how you can do that." They both turned both turned into an alleyway they saw and what looked like to be a food place at the end so they decided they would be safer if they went into a public place. They were seated and they ordered some food and drinks to calm their nerves. Neither of them had an idea how they were going to get out of this one, especially with none of their team here to back them up. Their food and drinks were bought to them and they started chowing it down as they had expended a lot of energy in the escape they had made.

The shorter one looked to the door, he heard something and then the taller one heard it to. He quickly looked around for an escape but there was only one door. It seemed like luck wasn't going to be on their side as a number of AT gang came roaring through the door and had them cornered in the food place. The two Australian riders looked around at everybody in the room; they put their heads to the floor and made no effort to help them. The one that made the first contact with them stepped forward, "Firstly you came to a place that is within our territory so nobody is going to come to your aid. If you were from around here you might have known that but it's a little late now. I am glad we found you little pests-why are you here with no team?

"We were sent by our superiors to watch and learn from riders in Japan; we haven't wanted trouble from the beginning."

"I am afraid you found it though-identify yourselves." The two riders didn't want to say anything, but at this stage they had to buy themselves time. The significantly shorter one of the two was the first to speak, "I am Malin."

"Blake," said the other.

"Well Malin and Blake, I am Daisuke of the Reds-tonight we are going to battle." One of the Reds stepped forward with their mobile phone aimed at their AT's hoping to catch their experience level. He looked up and whispered something into the ear of Daisuke. "So you thought coming without memory cards in your AT's would save you from the attention of hard teams. You were watching an F Class battles and I can therefore deduce that you are not even above an E Class. Well tonight though, we all go to hell, in a D Class Cube Battle." The Reds began jumping around and cheering at the thought of a match with these two riders. Malin and Blake looked at each other, very intimidated while Daisuke loved every moment of it. The two Australian riders were shown the way out of the food bar and towards the home ground of the Reds.


	2. Cube

Malin and Blake the two Australian riders were so nervous as they were being escorted by the Japanese Reds gang to their home ground for a match. They knew that whichever way the match went, they were still greatly outnumbered and by what appeared to be a very aggressive team. Malin tried to get a few messages to Blake, he could see that even Blake was not a little pressured and Blake hardly ever lost his composure. Soon enough they arrived. The Red's home ground was a school and they were taken through the school grounds where people were already waiting to watch a battle. Most were the Reds, some were from other teams and there were a surprising amount of people just here to watch. The D Class Cube Battle would take place within the toilet blocks that had been refurnished into a fighting zone for the battleground. There were cameras within the room and everybody outside could watch the fight outside the toilets and it was being streamed straight to the internet. Malin happened to look over and see a few people not from the Reds gang, but there was someone that caught his eye. He couldn't believe what he was seeing and this person noticed he was looking. As if knowing how nervous he was he put his thumb up and smiled as if wishing him all the best. Malin wished he would come over and help but it didn't look like that was going to happen.

Daisuke stepped forward to calm everybody down. He chose Blake as his opponent for the first match up. Blake turned and Malin was able to shake his hand for good luck as they parted ways. Daisuke seemed ready for a fight as he had been watching others ride against each other all day. The match came on the big screen outside and the crowd went crazy with anticipation.

Blake stood very still as if not wanting to see how long he could keep Daisuke still for. Blake obviously didn't want to make the first move and he seemed to be too scared to fight. Daisuke took advantage of Blake not moving and charged at him head on. He had on some brass knuckles to maximise his punching power within these closed zone they were in and knew he was almost certain in connecting a couple of shots. Daisuke swung a shot and Blake completely dodged it, going underneath and spinning around causing Daisuke to go straight passed him. Charging head on, even in a space this small wasn't always the best method and Daisuke decided he would mix up his attack charges to make his movements a little more unpredictable. It didn't seem to matter though which angle he came at Blake, he wasn't able to land a single shot on him. The crowd and Daisuke was a little restless and frustrated at the lack of confrontation the Australian was showing. He looked around quickly and had an idea; he went around the perimeter of the toilets to where there were still some functioning facilities just without the cubicle walls up. Instead of going to hit Blake, he hit all the toilets, shattering them and sending water spurting everywhere.

Malin was watching outside and he knew what Daisuke was up to. He was using the water to wet the tiled floor and make it more slippery. This would make it harder for Blake to continue dodging him and force him into a one on one fight which he had already setup for with the brass knuckles. Malin let out a sigh of relief which wasn't noticed by anyone around him. It was indeed an intimidating strategy, but this had now been turned in Blake's favour and he knew everything would be ok for him until his match was over.

Daisuke had an extra bit of confidence in his attack now but once again couldn't connect a shot against Blake. This time Blake twisted his body around and manoeuvred himself out of the situation, which he hadn't done before. Blake was tall and everybody knew that the taller someone was, it was harder to balance as their centre of gravity was higher. This however was done with expert balance and foot positioning showing that he was very used to working in enclosed spaces and using not only his feet to shift his weight onto but using his hips to twist his entire body around and allow for a great amount of movement. Daisuke had never dealt with something like this before and as Blake readied himself for another attack, his foot slipped out and he leant back about to fall down. Taking full advantage of the situation, Daisuke charged forward to finish the fight off. He aimed as much strength as he could into his fist and used acceleration to gain momentum for maximum damage. With all the momentum he had gained for this attack though, he had worked himself into a position that he wouldn't be able to pull out. What happened next wasn't even seen by many people watching, but all they knew was that instead of Blake slipping over and copping a shot, he was standing strong and his opponent had been knocked down convincingly with enough force to be slammed into the wall. Before Daisuke could get himself from the wall, Blake had already backed it up and charged in to finish him off with a combo attack that hardly anybody could see but effective in leaving his opponent unable to fight.

The gang outside watching groaned in disappointment while Malin wanted to yell out in excitement that his friend had won. When Daisuke wet the floor in hopes it would slow Blake down he only did himself a disadvantage. Blake's balance was outstanding due to his large feet and strong core through his stomach. This is how he could pretend to slip over while having complete control the entire time by having his weight down on his opposite leg and stomach tensed to stay upright. When his opponent fell for the trap-it was a matter of using his reflexes to hop up and counter the attack. His reflexes were his true strength which he used for melee attacks that were so quick that they could often be unseen to the naked and inexperienced eye. Close quarter combat against Blake was the worst tactic this guy could have done and he paid the price for it.

The announcement went out over the school grounds that Daisuke of the Reds had lost to this no name rider of Australia. Malin was so happy his friend was ok, but suddenly so nervous as he always got before a match as it was now his turn to fight. It seemed he would be fighting the leader of the Reds and the gang around him began to cheer very loud in preparation. It was a D Class Cube Battle with Malin vs. Daichi as he was known. Malin looked to the crowd to see them opening up like the Red Sea to let their leader come through. Daichi eyed him carefully, already shaping him up for this fight-he seemed less cocky than Daisuke, but much more calculating. Daichi disappeared from view into the toilet blocks and Malin was shoved in by the Reds around him wanting the next fight to take place. Malin got in there in time to see Daichi pick Daisuke up off the ground while he congratulated Blake on his victory and got a good luck from him. Daichi spoke to his partner loud enough for him to hear, "You underestimated these riders, it is obvious they took their memory cards out so just in case they ran into a problem like this. Just because they are not from Japan doesn't mean they are any less skilled than you and they had the advantage over you for it." Daisuke apologised and left the room after he eyed Malin off. Blake also left behind him and Malin faced off with the Reds leader for what seemed like an eternity. "Rest assured I will not be beaten by you". Malin said nothing-he hated trash talking but took it all in and began looking around the room for his options. He steadied his nerves as best he could and began looking at the body positioning of Daichi to get some clues as to how he may attack. Finally, after a lot of tension from inside the battleground and outside, the match was started.

Daichi came at him straight from the start and tried to connect a simple attack. Malin wasn't as steady in his balance as Blake due to smaller feet so he relied on his strong calf muscles and ankles to hold most of his weight and on the tiled floor which was now wet from the previous fight-that wasn't the most helpful habit to have and was a disadvantage to him. He wouldn't be able to make any sharp movements otherwise he risked falling over so he would try to block the attacks before creating some distance. Daichi was very skilled in his combo attacks within the confined area, but his shots were being stopped continuously by Malin. He couldn't land one shot as every time he threw a punch or kick he was able to stop it or duck underneath it. Daichi almost became frustrated but seemed to remember Daisuke doing the same in the last fight and regathered himself. "Are your reflexes like your teammates as well?" Daichi said hoping to gain some insight but wouldn't be so lucky as Malin remained quiet. "I don't know how you are able to tell what attacks I am about to do-but without offence you cannot win." Malin still remained quiet and was watching things very carefully-there was some truth in what his opponent just said and he was looking for the right time to launch his attack.

Daichi reached into his belt and bought out a whip, which would increase his reach to the entire toilet block room and be much harder to dodge. Malin took off knowing he needed to keep moving otherwise he would be a sitting target for the whip strike. This method bought him some time as Daichi had to aim up his shot and try and get his movements down. Daichi waited and waited until he was sure he had Malin locked on enough to take a shot. He put his arm backwards getting ready to sling his whole arm forwards bringing the whip with him but was surprised when Malin suddenly came to a complete stop-even on the wet floor. This had been done with very skilled breaking abilities and ankle positioning and while Daichi tried to aim a new shot he was suddenly thrown off again when Malin took off with all the acceleration he had. It was in that moment that Daichi realised his whole body couldn't move and for some reason had completely frozen. Something he couldn't explain had happened and allowed Malin to come in for close quarters and get a wide open shot to him without him being able to do anything about it.

Blake watching outside the match was also relieved now. Malin had been able to win the match and they had proven their skills in an actual fight against a Japanese AT team. Daichi had very strong offence and Malin was only waiting for the right moment to use his technique effectively rather than numerously. Also Daichi used very obvious close combinations and then used a whip which was a long range fighting method. His ability at the end was the best thing to use in this match as the concentration on the long range weapon left him open for it. The Reds leader had been using his brain and reflexes to aim up the shot on Malin and when he stopped-he quickly reacted to change, but once again thrown off when Malin took off. There were so many messages that the brain can send at one time and only so quickly the body can respond to these messages. It temporarily froze Daichi's body despite his mind being able to tell what was going on and he had won because of it.

Blake looked around to unfortunately see the Reds becoming very agro after their leader had also lost. Malin came out of the block and Blake straight away went into his corner and they were surrounded by the gang. It seemed things were not going to be ok for them after all and they wouldn't return home, until something happened. All of a sudden, the Reds were backing off and too scared to charge. Someone was standing in front of them, who was this person that had come to help…?


	3. New Friends

Malin and Blake looked around counting down the seconds until the gang charged in on them. As soon as this mystery person came to help, nobody more than Malin knew at that point that they were not going to charge. He could see it clearly, everything had changed and slowly the Reds backed off. This person stood tall and confident with his black hair hanging everywhere, mostly over his face, he looked composed but ready to fight if any of them had the guts to challenge him. There were whispers among the Reds, even Malin and Blake looked at each other in shock at what they were seeing as they knew who it was but couldn't believe he was standing here now. The closest one to being the sky king, Minami Itsuki in the flesh stood before them, as if like a saviour against all those that meant them harm. "Nobody will be hurting these two riders-they have proven themselves already and beaten your best riders, which mean you should respectfully stand down."

"Why should we?"

"The only reason you want trouble is because you outnumber them-but just know if you attack now, you attack against me and if you attack against me-you attack against Kogarasumaru." The Reds held their spot and moved no closer. It took a little while before they opened up a passageway and peacefully let Malin, Blake and Ikki out. As they were riding out, Malin looked over at Ikki who led the way, he had a smile on his face. As grateful as Malin felt, it was a little embarrassing, needing to be helped out like this. "Where are you taking us?" Blake asked still in awe of Ikki.

"You can come back to our place and rest for a while, oh and congratulations on your win against those guys, you are both pretty interesting."

"It was the least I could do, you really entertained me before and I am interested to understand your skills when we get back-I have never met an overseas rider before and ones from Australia-that's just awesome." He had no idea how they felt about meeting him and they continued through Tokyo until they got back to a house and escorted inside.

Malin and Blake immediately noticed a very young cute girl answer the door and she was wearing AT's, she wouldn't have been any older than 7 but here she was, a storm rider like them. "You guys are not from around here, who have you bought home now Ikki?"

"Two riders here from Australia-they were in a bit of trouble so I thought I would bring them back here. Hey Ume can you go get some tea for them please?" Ume smiled and rode off through the house. Both Blake and Malin were dumfounded when they were introduced to the other girls of the house. Rika, Mikan and Ringo were so gorgeous and even Ume would be attractive when she was older-all of them were storm riders. In fact Malin had the feeling they were better than what they were letting on. "So tell me about yourselves and your team." Ikki asked and all the girls came in and sat around listening to them.

Malin went first, "Well I am Malin Christou also known as Odysseus back home. I was bought up from a baby around the Westside Magpies as my dad was a rider for them."

"Magpies?"

"Well the magpie as I said before is a bird native to Australia. The Australian Magpie is larger than those from other countries and is fiercely protective of its young, being very aggressive in nesting season and swoops down on people it perceives as a threat. The Westside Magpies wasn't the very first AT team created in the Oceania region but the culture it founded laid the basis of riders in Australia and New Zealand. It used this idea to make a team that fought for one another and create bonds close enough to be a family-which it has done for some time. The Magpies may not always be the most skilled or the have the best riders-but because of our passion and team work, we are always able to come from behind in any situation from mateship." Everyone seemed rather impressed at this but Ikki still had questions, "What was your dad like?"

"He taught me everything I knew and one of the great riders of the gang." Blake interrupted Malin here who seemed a bit quiet, "His dad was one of the greatest riders of all time within Australia even once holding the title of Seer King on the Eye Road."

"The Seer King?"

"To see what nobody else can see." This sparked Ikki's interest and he looked back at Malin who seemed embarrassed, "Why are you so quiet about this? Are you embarrassed by your dad's achievements?"

"No-but I want my own name." He seemed to have carried this burden on his shoulders for sometime and Ikki let it go, looking at Blake. "So what is your story?"

"Well I am Blake Natini, or my rider name is Slingshot. I have been riding for about 5 years now and I met Malin before I joined any team. I was undisciplined then and he wiped the floor with me and then we both grew together to C Class Riders back home. I class him as my brother and we will never be separated."

Ringo for the first time would directly speak to them as she had noticed something, "I noticed you didn't say you were never going to stop AT?"

"Well I kind of play basketball pretty competitively."

"He is a genius basketballer," Malin interrupted.

"I enjoy basketball more than anything else but I cannot leave my friends, there is no reason why I cannot have both-so I use basketball to help my AT and my AT to help my basketball." It looked like Ikki had worked a few things out now like he had been thinking about it the entire time. "So that is why your balance is so good, you are tall and used to shifting your weight regularly in a confined space-interesting. I gather Malin inherited some of his dads ability and is why he can see through his opponents attack before it happens." Ikki was right on both accounts and they spoke for a little while longer until the door slammed open making them jump in shock.

Malin and Blake turned to see the Fang King standing before them. "Ikki what have you done now? Fuck! I had to see it to believe it, are these the Australians that you had to poke your business into to help? The word has already spread about the riders that beat the D Class team and saved by the future sky king."

"So what? They won fair and square and were going to be killed-just like after we beat Behemoth."

"Well some team from back in Australia got wind of it and are sending riders here to take them down while they are without their team to finish them off-the only reason I got word of it was from Akira."

"Who is coming?"

"Some team called the Southern Snipers, Fuck!" Blake and Malin looked at each other, "They are coming here?"

Agito nodded, "Not only that, but I think they have done a minor attack on your territory back home to make sure no reinforcements could come." This worried Malin and Blake-even though they could handle a minor attack back home he hoped nobody would be hurt just because of what had happened here. The mood had suddenly got really tense, the rest of Kogarasumaru entered the house and if it wasn't so serious Malin would have wanted to meet them all. The only ones that looked calm with Ikki and Blake. Agito noticed this and got agitated, "Why the fuck are you two so calm?" Ikki and Blake looked at each other. "Blake never gets worried about anything, it is really quite agitating," Malin said.

"I am excited we are going to get to go against some different kind of competitors. Because rest assured we are helping them out-it is a Kogara-Magpie alliance for the match that will come


	4. Memories

The next day was cloudy; there had been a meeting set up put in place for when the Southern Snipers of Australia arrived in Japan. Kogarasumaru would accompany them and be with them for whatever lay ahead. They rode through Tokyo, until they got back to the Reds home ground at the school in which the location of the meeting was going to take place. It seemed the Reds gang would be accommodating the Australian team as a favour in hopes that they can watch them beat the two Westside Magpies riders and also weaken Kogasumaru somewhat so that they may possibly be able to challenge them once they were weakened.

The nerves hit Malin once more as they went through the Reds grounds and seeing everyone he had just eluded with the help of Ikki. He looked alongside him to see Ikki still confident as well as Agito, Kazu, Buccha and Onigiri-but it was the most comforting to have Blake with him at a time like this. There was nobody else he would rather be with than his best friend and when they got through this together-the experience they had would give them something more than a lot of training could back home. Malin and Blake had ensured Kogarasumaru that although the AT riders in Australia were not as vicious as Japanese riders, some areas of skills were much better than Japanese as they prioritised different aspects of riding. It was very crowded and when they got to the heart of the territory, they could see the four riders that had been sent to challenge them. Malin knew these guys were coming for them.

Ikki knew nobody would try anything as he had his whole team there and he started looking at these riders for any signs of weaknesses he could use later on. Daisuke of the Reds eyed Blake who had beaten him in a D Class Battle earlier and spoke, "The Southern Snipers are here to fight the Magpies riders."

"We have temporarily teamed up with Kogarasumaru seeing as though you are only here because our team isn't with us."

One of the Snipers started talking, he seemed to be the leader by the way he acted and spoke, "We only have four people here, so what are you suggesting?"

"We are using two members from them and both of us are riding-which in an alliance is perfectly fine to match up with under the conditions for a C Class Air Battle."

"So Malin, you once again look to someone else's reputation for support. It is a welcome challenge after you fly on the shadow of the Seer King-soon enough though you will have to fly on your own and fight your own matches." Malin got a little frustrated and Blake tugged on the back of his shirt to keep him at bay. Ikki stepped forward, "And who are you amateurs?"

Alex Davies-'The River' An average height guy with toned legs and very blonde hair that hung over his face. Although he wasn't the highest rated rider in the team, he was the leader on account of his ability.

Tim Naughton-'Mantis' A tall rider that received the alias Mantis from his physical likeness to the Praying Mantis and his riding strategy which based on the back of their fighting ability.

Greg Drew-'Tasmanian Devil' A very short rider that looked very aggressive. He had fangs and teeth that had been surgically put into his body that made him look even more intimidating.

Amanda Beck-'Cobra Lilly' A very pretty rider but with a look that showed she meant business. The only A Class Rider among the Snipers present in Japan and usually finishes her prey off before they realise what is happening.

Ikki's comment agitated Alex and he clenched his fist before smiling it off. "I got nothing to prove to any of you, especially Malin-seeing as though I have already bested him-but I suppose we can show the legendary Kogarasumaru what we are capable of. All of us here will surely win and claim worldwide status. C Class Battle here tomorrow, let it be shown around the world when a Japanese team loses to the greatest Oceania team in history."

Ikki wasn't finished getting into his opponent's head yet, "Isn't it true though that you haven't beaten the Magpies back home though? That isn't a very good record."

"I suppose you are right, but a single magpie is an easy target to bring down from the sky when you can see it. This is the whole reason why a Magpie will attack people from behind as they are too weak to do it from the front. So without your teamwork that you Magpie riders are so famous for only mean that you never have to take responsibility or blame yourself. So when the time comes that you have to fly for yourself, you wings will be too weak to carry you."

Ikki turned both Malin and Blake around and lead them out. Enough had been said they needed to go rest up and get their last preparations in before the match tomorrow; it was a neutral ground seeing as though it was two outside teams taking part-therefore no real advantage to either of them. They had already decided who was fighting, Malin and Blake had to take part as the only Magpie representatives there, but they had believed Ikki and Agito to be the next best candidates to fill in against their opponent's unique abilities.

Malin woke up in the middle of the night. He knew he wouldn't be able to get back to asleep on account he couldn't stop thinking about the match. He still couldn't believe he was going to be fighting alongside the next sky king and wondered how they were going to handle the Southern Snipers. He needed some fresh air so he quietly got up and went outside where it was quiet and peaceful. Looking up at the moon, he wondered how his friends were doing back home with the Snipers launching a minor attack on them there as well. "How are you going to fight tomorrow if you are this nervous? Fuck!" It startled Malin and he turned and looked onto the roof to see Agito sitting on the edge. "I always get nervous before a match-it means I care."

"No it means you are worried about letting us down and yourself down, you carry too much on your shoulders so piss it off before our match tomorrow." Malin had nothing to say and turned back to the moon. He heard the door open behind him and he assumed Agito had gone inside but was surprised to see Ikki outside standing with him. "You can't sleep either huh?" Malin shook his head and saw Agito was indeed gone now and hoped Ikki hadn't heard that. As if reading his mind Ikki said, "Don't worry about Agito-he says things like that when most of the time he means well, what he said isn't too far from the truth though, you carry a heavy burden on yourself you don't need to."

"I know it isn't like the burden of the next sky king but- "

"That is where you are wrong; there are no levels of burden or expectation. The burden to me is the same as the burden to you-everybody has them-everybody, even this River guy we are fighting tomorrow. But you should know, that the more pressure you put on yourself, the harder it will be, you have heard those words before haven't you?" Malin nodded, "My dad always taught me that."

"You can see things that nobody else can, you will soon be able to see the battleground in a way you never imagined, but you can see more-you can see the opponent which even I cannot do. May I ask what happened last time you faced the River?"

"It was a junior tournament, we were F Class Riders just coming into AT and it was us against them. All of our riders had gone and it came down to sudden death-for some reason I ended up getting chosen even though I am nowhere near as fast as Blake or some of my other teammates and was matched up against him. Anyway we started the race and he knew that because he was almost certain to beat me and how hard I needed to push myself to win-my eyes wouldn't be focused on him but on the road ahead. For this is the problem with ambition, it doesn't look behind it and after he had already been using his ability on me without me even realising it-he was able to take me out and win the match for his team. He has never let me forget it-ever and it didn't matter how many other tournaments we beat his team in, he always bought that one thing up."

Ikki laughed, "It sounds like he really got you-making sure you couldn't watch his body movements, not too bad. But there is one problem I see with this, a junior tournament is a junior tournament-it means nothing now. Tomorrow, I think you will have to prove yourself to everybody that you are worthy of flying." He turned around and went to go back inside, but before he did he said one last thing, "Don't be afraid of flying-don't be afraid of seeing how high you can actually go with your own wings and when the time comes-you will have to trust your instincts rather than your sight." He continued back inside and Malin felt so pumped up he could have ridden through a brick wall. It was going to be a very important match tomorrow against the Southside Snipers.

When the next morning came, everybody got themselves ready. There had been a lot of hype about Malin and Blake riding with Kogarasumaru. When the time came to leave and head to the battleground, they were all really pumped. Buccha, Onigiri and Kazu rode with them and together they arrived at the school grounds that the Reds were already at waiting for them. This time though, they weren't going to be in a D Class Battle, they would be in a C Class Battle and the poles were already set up for their match. It seemed that there would be 10 poles which were not going to be randomly knocked down during the match but remained upright. They were also much larger and wider than normal which would allow for a very open and interesting matchup allowing the riders more space to use their skills better. Malin was so nervous he felt sick, he looked at Agito who death stared back at him and then he looked at Ikki who gave him a thumbs up. He didn't want to let anyone down, especially himself. Blake patted him on the shoulder, "Let's enjoy it like it was the greatest match of our life." Malin relaxed a little and smiled and then answered back, "It is the greatest match of our life." Ikki and Agito looked ready for the match. They went onto their podiums and waited for the Southern Snipers to get a cheer into the stadium and set themselves up on their podiums. The place was packed out with people from everywhere, Ringo was there watching as well as some of the other Kings. Malin could make out Spitfire in the crowd as well as Yoshitsune the Rumble King and wondered who else was there watching on the internet around the world. His eyes met the River's and bad memories temporarily through his head. Finally after all the suspense, the match up between Kogara-Magpies and Southern Snipers began.


	5. Fight

It had just so happen to end up that Malin from the Westside Magpies came up against the A Class rider Cobra Lilly. He had never had the chance of facing her back home but he had watched her participate at the highest levels of female competition and she had wiped the floor with the best of them. Now that she had come over in unisex and male competition as well, it seemed her techniques worked better than they did on women. Malin hadn't been able to completely figure out what exactly happened, but he had an idea of how she caught people under her trap and he hoped he had taken the necessary precautions.

She was more than happy to fight him and she noticed that Malin wasn't looking into her eyes, "So you are trying to avoid my Cobra Lilly trap? I admire your intuitiveness but it isn't my eyes you have to avoid." Malin said nothing and she charged towards him. Malin looked at her body and his eyes scanned every inch of her while avoiding eye contact. He was able to predict what angle she was coming from and act accordingly, blocking the punch and twisting her body over her own axis slamming her into the ground. Before he did anything else, he retreated rather than try and get her again on the ground and made some distance between each other in another Mexican standoff position.

She charged in again throwing an array of punches and kicks in a very complex combination but Malin was able to stop it with his anticipation. Cobra Lilly had never faced someone who could see through her attacks before and she kept trying to keep a high speed tempo to ensure he would soon make a mistake. Waiting for his opportunity, Malin swung a punch that connected with her face and he quickly retreated again to give himself some space despite everyone watching expecting him to pursue his offensive. Cobra Lilly had seen something weird when he had backed off, "You are avoiding staying too close to me for too long aren't you? Another way of trying to get around my trap?" Malin still said nothing and it was now Cobra Lilly worked it out, "So you avoid eye contact and speaking because you believe that it is a scent attack through your mouth that may be my technique. That is very impressive in being able to work that out, but I am afraid it still doesn't matter because there is no getting passed my other way of using scent-the obvious way through your nose has been here the whole time-you are already under my trap."

Malin kept his mouth shut although he looked a little worried. It wasn't too much longer before his movements became a little sluggish. Everyone watching saw that he was indeed under her technique and he could no longer move and dropped to his knees, "Odysseus has fallen like an average warrior. Didn't Odysseus fear the Sirens on his great odyssey and it was only by the help of his crew that he didn't kill himself to go after them-you are weak." Cobra Lilly charged at him to end it so she could assist her teammates in this match when she saw Malin stand up. In horror she looked as she could almost see him as a legendary warrior in front of her and how he had once again come out on top somehow with his cunningness.

**Tornado Air 900**. The move that using his leg strength and low centre of gravity-could power forward, leaping into the air and using his flexibility to spin his body around and cut through the air like a torpedo and slam straight into his opponent as if he hadn't been damaged at all. Cobra Lilly went flying backwards with all the air taken out of her stomach and she coughed to get in as much oxygen as she could after she had been winded, "How could you not be under my technique?" Malin was breathing heavy, very heavy catching his breathe even though he hadn't done much in the fight so far. "When Odysseus was partaking in his great journey you speak of, there was one island he came to with his entire fleet. On this island he lost over half of his ships and crew members as they were hunted and killed by the Laestrygonians that inhabited the island. You see they were already doomed when they set their ships down on the shores as they were already cornered by the surrounding gorges and cliffs which they merely used to box them in. Odysseus was only saved by his own intuition as he didn't foolishly anchor his ship in the harbour as the others did allowing him to escape back out to sea. I was never under your trap from the beginning because I had taken the precautions. Getting past your fumes by my mouth was easy-it was the fumes you were slowly releasing for me to inhale that I had to watch out for." Malin reached into both of his nostrils looking very strange within an AT battle and pulled out two nose plugs. The whole time he couldn't breathe through his nose which was why he needed to create space to be able to breathe through his mouth that he was holding closed when in close with her. "And now it is time to finish it," he rode in to her ready to finish it but she was saved by the River, "The River will wash you away," he said getting a shot on him from behind. Malin went down, but got back up quickly to see River had come to help his teammate and he wasn't alone-Ikki was right there next to him looking as confident as ever.

Ikki had joined back up with Malin for this fight on the platform. River had eluded him to get the shot onto Cobra Lilly and he felt himself becoming more tired. As if knowing what he was thinking, River looked at him, "It doesn't feel good to feel the moisture leaving your body does it?" Ikki was out of breath and thought back to what they had discussed the night before about River.

"_The River is well known for his ability. I only know it is something to do with his jacket and how he rides enables him to go for longer even though his stamina is not very good at all. He will use it to help out his team by draining our energy and giving it to them, as if he really was fresh river helping out a community around it. So after he drains some energy from us, which is the moisture in our very body that we naturally make to cool ourselves down and move our blood around the body-he will then disperse it to his team. He will make some kind of sign during the fight, the only way of knowing is after it is done and by that time his team would have already received their nourishment. We can identify as many signs as we want but they have too many backups and will be something we have to get around in the fight-especially if one of us is already under his ability." _

Ikki came back around and realised he was under the Rivers technique. He remembered back to the start of the fight where he was able to connect a shot against the River and believed that was when he was able to start dehydrating him. This River had known what Ikki was going to do and this was beginning to make things very interesting. It was then that Ikki noticed something else, he saw River throw his hands into the air and how this sign bought a change in everybody's attention in his own team. They abandoned their fights and flocked to their leader, hovering around him. This was a sign and Ikki also saw something else and smiled, "You all had better enjoy that as it will be the last bit of energy you get for the rest of the fight."

"Why because Odysseus can see our body patterns? It hasn't stopped us before."

"By your movements with your AT and your jacket I believe it has some precipitation device in it that absorbs water from the area around it, which you can direct at your opponents if need be and separates the air from the water to store it. Then you can emit it within the air to reenergise your teammates and keep you fighting."

"Congratulations, you are the first to work out how my hydrate and rehydrate ability works. The River has always been a source of life to any town that has been lucky to live by it and they use it to their full extent. I am merely fulfilling my duty to the team, but you haven't told me how you are going to stop it."

"Because unlike them I can see the very water in the wind that you are emitting." Everyone stopped dead, River's eyes changed and he covered it up with a smile, "You are bluffing." Ikki didn't need to wait any longer, he charged in at River while everyone else went back to their fight.

The River saw him coming and threw a punch which wasn't even close to hitting Ikki and received one back that knocked him down. He got up from the ground and needed to give himself a lift. Ikki rushed in again and forced River to move otherwise he would have copped another devastating shot from River. Ikki stood in the spot that River was jut standing and called out to his team, "Hey Agito, Slingshot, Odysseus-come over here and get some energy back." Everyone listening came over and soon enough they felt like they hadn't even been fighting the whole time. "What is going on?" The Devil asked River wondering how their opponents were now receiving nourishment and they were not."

"You can see it can't you?" River asked.

"Yeah I guess I can see the wind when you release the moisture into it, it looks a little heavier than normal and I guess that is how I can tell. So were you going to tell your teammates that you were releasing this or were you taking it all for yourself? I suppose those lucky enough to live next to a river also ran the risk of the river flooding and working against them." There was no answer and he had got under River's skin enough to the point where he charged recklessly.

This time though, it was Malin that got in the way of Ikki and was ready to meet him head on which River was all too happy with. They clashed and neither of them was able to get a shot in on the other. They created some distance again and they both began to rethink their strategy. River looked behind him and noticed Ikki was there and he turned quickly expecting Ikki to finish him and was surprised to see him not move at all. "Hey Malin do you think you can handle this chump?"

"No problems."

River smiled, he didn't really want to fight Ikki the Wind King anymore and he a burst of confidence ran through him. Ikki picked up on this and mocked him, "It seems you do not want to fight me anymore. That is the problem with you rivers; it is the path of the least resistance that makes you crooked. You think it will be easier fighting him, there is nothing harder than fighting something with a reason to fight." Only Malin understood what Ikki meant and it made him so pumped he wanted to show River what he could do and that he was the next Seer King of the Vision Road. He needed to bring himself under control though if he expected to see everything.


	6. Trap

It had just so happen to end up that Malin from the Westside Magpies came up against the A Class rider Cobra Lilly. He had never had the chance of facing her back home but he had watched her participate at the highest levels of female competition and she had wiped the floor with the best of them. Now that she had come over in unisex and male competition as well, it seemed her techniques worked better than they did on women. Malin hadn't been able to completely figure out what exactly happened, but he had an idea of how she caught people under her trap and he hoped he had taken the necessary precautions.

She was more than happy to fight him and she noticed that Malin wasn't looking into her eyes, "So you are trying to avoid my Cobra Lilly trap? I admire your intuitiveness but it isn't my eyes you have to avoid." Malin said nothing and she charged towards him. Malin looked at her body and his eyes scanned every inch of her while avoiding eye contact. He was able to predict what angle she was coming from and act accordingly, blocking the punch and twisting her body over her own axis slamming her into the ground. Before he did anything else, he retreated rather than try and get her again on the ground and made some distance between each other in another Mexican standoff position.

She charged in again throwing an array of punches and kicks in a very complex combination but Malin was able to stop it with his anticipation. Cobra Lilly had never faced someone who could see through her attacks before and she kept trying to keep a high speed tempo to ensure he would soon make a mistake. Waiting for his opportunity, Malin swung a punch that connected with her face and he quickly retreated again to give himself some space despite everyone watching expecting him to pursue his offensive. Cobra Lilly had seen something weird when he had backed off, "You are avoiding staying too close to me for too long aren't you? Another way of trying to get around my trap?" Malin still said nothing and it was now Cobra Lilly worked it out, "So you avoid eye contact and speaking because you believe that it is a scent attack through your mouth that may be my technique. That is very impressive in being able to work that out, but I am afraid it still doesn't matter because there is no getting passed my other way of using scent-the obvious way through your nose has been here the whole time-you are already under my trap."

Malin kept his mouth shut although he looked a little worried. It wasn't too much longer before his movements became a little sluggish. Everyone watching saw that he was indeed under her technique and he could no longer move and dropped to his knees, "Odysseus has fallen like an average warrior. Didn't Odysseus fear the Sirens on his great odyssey and it was only by the help of his crew that he didn't kill himself to go after them-you are weak." Cobra Lilly charged at him to end it so she could assist her teammates in this match when she saw Malin stand up. In horror she looked as she could almost see him as a legendary warrior in front of her and how he had once again come out on top somehow with his cunningness.

**Tornado Air 900**. The move that using his leg strength and low centre of gravity-could power forward, leaping into the air and using his flexibility to spin his body around and cut through the air like a torpedo and slam straight into his opponent as if he hadn't been damaged at all. Cobra Lilly went flying backwards with all the air taken out of her stomach and she coughed to get in as much oxygen as she could after she had been winded, "How could you not be under my technique?" Malin was breathing heavy, very heavy catching his breathe even though he hadn't done much in the fight so far. "When Odysseus was partaking in his great journey you speak of, there was one island he came to with his entire fleet. On this island he lost over half of his ships and crew members as they were hunted and killed by the Laestrygonians that inhabited the island. You see they were already doomed when they set their ships down on the shores as they were already cornered by the surrounding gorges and cliffs which they merely used to box them in. Odysseus was only saved by his own intuition as he didn't foolishly anchor his ship in the harbour as the others did allowing him to escape back out to sea. I was never under your trap from the beginning because I had taken the precautions. Getting past your fumes by my mouth was easy-it was the fumes you were slowly releasing for me to inhale that I had to watch out for." Malin reached into both of his nostrils looking very strange within an AT battle and pulled out two nose plugs. The whole time he couldn't breathe through his nose which was why he needed to create space to be able to breathe through his mouth that he was holding closed when in close with her. "And now it is time to finish it," he rode in to her ready to finish it but she was saved by the River, "The River will wash you away," he said getting a shot on him from behind. Malin went down, but got back up quickly to see River had come to help his teammate and he wasn't alone-Ikki was right there next to him looking as confident as ever.

Ikki had joined back up with Malin for this fight on the platform. River had eluded him to get the shot onto Cobra Lilly and he felt himself becoming more tired. As if knowing what he was thinking, River looked at him, "It doesn't feel good to feel the moisture leaving your body does it?" Ikki was out of breath and thought back to what they had discussed the night before about River.

"_The River is well known for his ability. I only know it is something to do with his jacket and how he rides enables him to go for longer even though his stamina is not very good at all. He will use it to help out his team by draining our energy and giving it to them, as if he really was fresh river helping out a community around it. So after he drains some energy from us, which is the moisture in our very body that we naturally make to cool ourselves down and move our blood around the body-he will then disperse it to his team. He will make some kind of sign during the fight, the only way of knowing is after it is done and by that time his team would have already received their nourishment. We can identify as many signs as we want but they have too many backups and will be something we have to get around in the fight-especially if one of us is already under his ability." _

Ikki came back around and realised he was under the Rivers technique. He remembered back to the start of the fight where he was able to connect a shot against the River and believed that was when he was able to start dehydrating him. This River had known what Ikki was going to do and this was beginning to make things very interesting. It was then that Ikki noticed something else, he saw River throw his hands into the air and how this sign bought a change in everybody's attention in his own team. They abandoned their fights and flocked to their leader, hovering around him. This was a sign and Ikki also saw something else and smiled, "You all had better enjoy that as it will be the last bit of energy you get for the rest of the fight."

"Why because Odysseus can see our body patterns? It hasn't stopped us before."

"By your movements with your AT and your jacket I believe it has some precipitation device in it that absorbs water from the area around it, which you can direct at your opponents if need be and separates the air from the water to store it. Then you can emit it within the air to reenergise your teammates and keep you fighting."

"Congratulations, you are the first to work out how my hydrate and rehydrate ability works. The River has always been a source of life to any town that has been lucky to live by it and they use it to their full extent. I am merely fulfilling my duty to the team, but you haven't told me how you are going to stop it."

"Because unlike them I can see the very water in the wind that you are emitting." Everyone stopped dead, River's eyes changed and he covered it up with a smile, "You are bluffing." Ikki didn't need to wait any longer, he charged in at River while everyone else went back to their fight.

The River saw him coming and threw a punch which wasn't even close to hitting Ikki and received one back that knocked him down. He got up from the ground and needed to give himself a lift. Ikki rushed in again and forced River to move otherwise he would have copped another devastating shot from River. Ikki stood in the spot that River was jut standing and called out to his team, "Hey Agito, Slingshot, Odysseus-come over here and get some energy back." Everyone listening came over and soon enough they felt like they hadn't even been fighting the whole time. "What is going on?" The Devil asked River wondering how their opponents were now receiving nourishment and they were not."

"You can see it can't you?" River asked.

"Yeah I guess I can see the wind when you release the moisture into it, it looks a little heavier than normal and I guess that is how I can tell. So were you going to tell your teammates that you were releasing this or were you taking it all for yourself? I suppose those lucky enough to live next to a river also ran the risk of the river flooding and working against them." There was no answer and he had got under River's skin enough to the point where he charged recklessly.

This time though, it was Malin that got in the way of Ikki and was ready to meet him head on which River was all too happy with. They clashed and neither of them was able to get a shot in on the other. They created some distance again and they both began to rethink their strategy. River looked behind him and noticed Ikki was there and he turned quickly expecting Ikki to finish him and was surprised to see him not move at all. "Hey Malin do you think you can handle this chump?"

"No problems."

River smiled, he didn't really want to fight Ikki the Wind King anymore and he a burst of confidence ran through him. Ikki picked up on this and mocked him, "It seems you do not want to fight me anymore. That is the problem with you rivers; it is the path of the least resistance that makes you crooked. You think it will be easier fighting him, there is nothing harder than fighting something with a reason to fight." Only Malin understood what Ikki meant and it made him so pumped he wanted to show River what he could do and that he was the next Seer King of the Vision Road. He needed to bring himself under control though if he expected to see everything.


	7. Size Matters

Agito clutched at his wound that Mantis had given him to slow down the bleeding as much as possible. It hurt so bad, Mantis had been able to connect his hook strike which had raked through into his body and if it hadn't been for Blake to get it out-there would have been a deeper gash. By the look of it and the feel of it, it had almost reached the bone, which meant the hook had gone through much of the muscle. There was a real danger of passing out which meant he needed to finish things as soon as possible because the longer this match went, the more he became at a disadvantage. Mantis had the obvious advantage with the wound he had been able to give Agito, but he had also been able to use his camouflage ability to hide somewhere on the battlefield. Agito knew he was somewhere waiting to ambush him with a long range attack.

"_Mantis can be quite tricky; he likes to use everything he can to his advantage while being a little more cautious if he has a disadvantage. He uses his long reach and if he connects with his hook strike then you will be in a lot of trouble. But even though that his ambush strategy gives him the edge of surprise, it also makes his offensive tactics predictable." _

If he waited on the spot, he risked being caught off guard from any angles, but if he moved around it would only accelerate blood flow and decrease the time he could fight in this match. He looked around to see all the others fighting. He couldn't believe he had been bought into this conflict with these riders that were from Australia. This Mantis guy was a real pain in the ass-and so was Ikki, having to stick his nose into others' business. But he was the Fang King, and there was no way he could lose to some tall prick that attacked like a bug, because in the end-that's all he was, an insignificant piss ass bug.

He moved slowly around, nobody knowing what he was doing, but everything Agito was doing was with a purpose. He knew he was harder to ambush like this as because he was changing directions and speed his movements were less predictable. It seemed like Mantis was going to wait until Agito was really weak before he attacked and Agito needed to equal things out and wondered if trash talk would do the trick, "Hey you fuck, you wanted to fight me because I am smaller than you right? Do you really need to wait before you pounce onto your prey?" It seemed Agito had got a reaction and he turned to see Mantis coming at him from behind. Mantis came at him with his arm outstretched looking like a real giant praying mantis coming in and Agito could tell he was trying to finish this now. Instead of running away, Agito came at him, building up as much speed as he could towards Mantis before spinning around connecting a kick to the side of Mantis' face completely dropping him to the ground.

"_Mantis is tall and uses his height and reach to his advantage…When he comes at you-you should go straight at him and commit him into the attack. It will be natural if you ride straight at him as his ego will get the better of him and he will not suspect there is anything interesting to your technique. This is when you should build up all the momentum you can get…than him being tall will help you." _This is what Malin had told Blake in preparation for fighting him and it seemed to work because Mantis obviously didn't want to fight him anymore. Agito used the same principle and also remembered what Malin said. _"Mantis is so tall and even though the top of his spinal chord and neck have a supernatural range of motion allowing him to have very little blind spots, his body isn't very practical at times. He can move limbs in a variety of ways, but not in different directions. He relies on his legs to turn himself rather than his hips and you can always use this to your advantage." _

Agito had used this simple premise to commit him into the attack and spin himself around, coming from a new direction and leaving Mantis unable to defend it. The shot connected was quite hard but Mantis quickly got up to make sure Agito couldn't continue attacking him and he must have been threatened as he seemed to be growing. As if he wasn't tall enough already, he had the appearance that he was growing and all his limbs were getting longer. He put his arms out to his sides making him look fierce and ready to fight and intimidated every single rider in the room watching the match. Unfortunately for him, he was up against the Fang King, who feared nothing and merely smiled at the sight of this. Agito had worked out that this if probably half an illusion but still having some truth in it, it seemed he could slightly stretch his limbs out-but didn't have the capacity of doing it like a real praying mantis as he had bones and joints holding him back. However it was a sight to see and Agito laughed, "If you are indeed trying to scare me off, I suppose this is like when a praying mantis gets into its defence mode when threatened. I am the one with a hole in my body and you are the one that is threatened. You are weak."

Something happened on one of the platforms and Agito naturally looked over, getting distracted from what he was doing. When he looked back, he noticed that Mantis was gone, and that this was definitely the final bout between the two. Agito looked at his hand which was stained heavy with his own blood from his wound and hoped he could hold out until the end. If he couldn't finish it now than he would have to surrender and take himself off the platform. It wasn't because he feared for his safety or because it hurt too much, but he would only be a hindrance to his teammates if he were to stay on much longer.

He slowly scouted around the platform he was on, actually admiring the camouflage ability and how he was able to be unseen in a match where there really was no place to hide. As if by some sense, Agito had a feeling and he turned around to what seemed to be a blank spot, but where Mantis was hiding. Agito couldn't explain how he knew, but he just did know that Mantis was indeed there waiting for him. Knowing he had been spotted, Mantis got up from the ground, "You were almost within my range."

Agito didn't need to do anything; he was lining up and making the final preparations for his attack. "You were already in mine," he said with a smirk on his face. Mantis who began charging again with his arms outstretched looked around him and it was then he noticed the cage around him that he had been locked in. Like a bug in a box, he had been caught within the fang regalia and the trap to finish him off. The entire time Agito moved had been with purpose, setting up this final attack and now it was a matter of finishing it off. He built up speed and then stopped, using his inertia to create a shockwave so powerful that knocked Mantis over the edge of the platform, even with his reach trying to grab the edge, it still had been too much force to hold onto and he fell down to the ground beneath him to be the first rider to be knocked off within the match.

Agito dropped to his knee, the pain had really set in now. After using his regalia his legs hurt as well and the whole in his body was only getting worse. He wanted to keep fighting but knew he couldn't and it was then he heard someone calling to him. It was Malin, the Australian rider in his team, "Jump off the platform Agito-we will handle the rest, if you don't you will die." Agito smiled. This fuck. It seemed this team and this guy wasn't so bad after all, he took himself off the platform before collapsing in Buccha's arms. He didn't last very long and with all the stress he put on his body he lost consciousness.


	8. Passion

It seemed now that the competitors had changed their opponents through the fight, Slingshot Blake was to come up against the Devil. They too had faced each other a few times before and both were happy to do it again. Blake tried hard to clear his mind and had been successful with all but one thing-Agito. It was indeed a deep wound that he had sustained from Mantis and he hoped they could finish the fight in time to get him some help. He looked over to see him now fighting against Mantis, Mantis must have wanted to fight him because he appeared smaller and wounded but was much more vicious than he was and if anyone could still win-it was the Fang King. Blake wished he didn't have to fight so he could watch him first hand and his fang regalia. Unfortunately now he did have to concentrate and there was no way he could lose to the Devil.

He looked over at him and he was firing himself up and looked very happy at Blake's placidness. He put his head up and sniffed a few times at the air, obviously getting something with his very good sense of smell. He looked back down at Blake very surprised, "So it isn't just an act you put on to be calm, you actually are not scared or psyched up. You are not even angry-you cannot win if you have no passion, no emotion and it is because you do not even want to fly, you just want to play basketball and ride for the sake of your friends. If you don't wish to fly high in AT than you are weak-too weak to face me."

"You have never bested me." The Devil didn't like this and he prepared himself to attack while Blake waited.

Soon enough the Devil charged in, wanting close combat with him. He slashed and mauled violently but couldn't get a shot on Blake. He was also able to counter his shots a few times connecting around the head and torso region. Blake just needed to wait for his opponent to get impatient and make a move before countering back with a shot. If things continued like this there was no possible way Blake could be defeated by such a simple attack plan-unfortunately though it seemed the Devil had done some studying of his own on the Slingshot and his reflexes.

The Devil swung a shot at Blake's head while also keeping a guard to make sure he couldn't be countered. The only action left was for Blake to move his head out of the way. The Devil used this opportunity to direct his attention at Blake's lower half, not fully getting him but managing to scrape Blake's leg. It hurt like hell, going through most of his pants and cutting some of the skin off and the Devil knew he was onto something, "Your reflexes may be a little tricky, but they make every movement you make predictable." They continued fighting and once again the Devil swung but this time purposely left himself open. Blake's natural instinct reflex made him use a snap action with his arm at a lightning speed thinking he was gaining the upper hand. However as he was doing this he saw that the Devil was waiting for his arm and was going to bite clean though his flesh. At the last second, Blake managed to open his hand spreading his fingers wide and clamming around the Devil's mouth like a muzzle leaving him unable to bite.

He couldn't hold onto this long as the Devil in a fury swiped at Blake, which made him backtrack and rethink how he was going to continue fighting. The Devil actually looked rather calm for the first time in this fight. "I have worked it out-the invincible Slingshot and his reflexes are finally working against you. The body has its own natural reflexes and not only have you got naturally good reflexes-which consists of having the brain sharp enough to perceive stimuli quick enough and also having the body to cope with the pure speed you put it through but you have also trained hard to be able to react in any given situation whether it is offensive or defensive. This makes you tough to beat, but it seems you have unintentionally made yourself more prone to very sensitive reflexes and this means that I know where you are going to be and when if I think one step ahead of you. Now how calm are you going to be?"

"So you worked out my reflexes, big deal. You got to still be able to stop me-I don't care if you worked out my attack and defence because everyone has worked out yours-not that it is too hard to work out anyway."

This got a reaction from the Devil and he charged in again. He kept using his tricks to put Blake into very hard situations that he was struggling with. His reflexes were getting him into trouble rather than getting himself out of it. He needed to find a way to use his skill to his advantage otherwise he would lose himself to the Devil.

Pretty soon the Devil became sloppier in his attacks while Blake remained the same. The longer they fought, the Devil wasn't able to continue working out how Blake was going to attack and reverted back to his undisciplined style of fighting. This only worked in favour of Blake who was able to get in more and more shots. When they had broken a part from another bout, the Devil looked at him, "How can you continue to fight? You are not even tired-where does your energy come from?"

"Just because I am composed doesn't mean this match means any less to me than it does for you, so you think you can fight forever on passion and emotion, I have all those things, but harnessing it and controlling it means that I can fight longer and not burn out like you have. You have been a part of Ikki's plan this entire time."

"_What about the Devil? He can be quite troublesome," said Blake as they were all strategising the night before the match. "He uses his anger in ways to unlock power and speed that he has." _

"_That may be true and using that allows him to unlock more power than maybe any of us. This is because emotion is a powerful thing and he can create adrenaline to be used throughout his entire body-including his energy system and muscles. But the disadvantage of this is that he cannot continue to use it. Using it at his tempo will burn his whole body out which is why he needs to finish the fight quickly. So what we need is to put him up against someone that will ensure he has to use everything he has got and then somebody who is best to take advantage of it," said Ikki. _

"You say that because I am calm it means nothing to me, but being composed doesn't mean it means any less to me than it does to you. You also said that I am weak because I don't fight for my own goals-but it is because I fight for my friends that I am truly stronger than you. You cannot match up against me who can block out my body's fatigue and remain calm in any situation. Right now, you will not be able to fight me anymore and have lost this fight." Blake closed his eyes in concentration and Devil didn't know what he was up to, but knew he needed to finish it now before he did lose the fight. If Slingshot was going to close his eyes, he would make sure he paid the price and went head on at him. He wondered why he wasn't opening his eyes as if he was in a trance and when he almost was on him he noticed Blake opened his eyes.

Ikki glanced over to see this and was glad he didn't miss it as it was one of the greatest things he had ever seen in his life. The Devil was about to be beaten and some words ran through his head, 'If the devil grabs you, even by a single hair-you are lost forever, BUT, when the angel arrives-the devil leaves.'

The Devil had bought himself into Blake's range as he relied on close combat. But going close quarters with the Slingshot was not recommended, not for anybody. **Slingshot 30 Strike, **Blake began punching so quickly that nobody could see his arms clearly. It looked like a human centipede with arms coming from everywhere and Blake got in so many shots that the Devil was gone by about the 13th hit. Blake didn't let up though until he had finished all 30, which knocked the Devil off the platform ending his time in the match.

Such a technique was indeed great, which uses his mind to be able to free his body of all fatigue and soreness to concentrate the muscles to extreme reactivity and flexibility. The joints needed to be warm and ready it was them which copped most of the damage while dealing the attack. It allowed the body use maximum reaction time in a continued combination of punches that didn't need power as they were so quick and sharp each one did its own individual damage and together was an attack strong enough to wipe anybody out. Unfortunately the toll it took on the body was indeed a big one and left Blake exhausted after such a gruelling technique. He could no longer move but it didn't matter, his part in this fight was over and he could only wait for the River to temporarily leave Malin to finish him off and knock him clear off the platform.


	9. Coming To An End

Agito had gone against Mantis and won while taking himself off the platform and Blake had taken down the Devil while also using a technique which left him vulnerable to be knocked off the platform. It was two against two and Ikki smirked to himself how it seemed the same thing was happening until the end of this fight. He looked up at Cobra Lilly who was to be his opponent for the rest of this fight, probably the most skilled rider on the field being an A Class, "I suppose I should fight you seeing as though we are probably the most skilled riders on the field," said Ikki as he looked at the attractive yet intimidating Cobra Lilly. "I suppose so-see how a Sky King goes against my traps-I suppose that you have set up for my traps as well."

"Yes I have, so I will probably need a bit of breathing time with these stupid nose plugs." Cobra Lilly knew her strategy would be to stay as close to Ikki for as long as possible so that he would eventually have to breathe and inhale her fumes that she slowly released into the air around her. She threw a shot which Ikki was able to block and she threw another which was also blocked by Ikki. She tried a few times to hit and realised that she wasn't quick enough in her strikes to even get close to him and retreated.

Ikki was confident in the short bout with how good he was going, but he looked down on his hands to see that there was a sticky substance all over his hands. He rubbed it off onto his shirt quickly knowing what she was trying to do, "So you are trying to make me absorb your poison through my skin, it might have worked if you didn't make it so obvious." Cobra Lilly said nothing but smiled. She was now wasting time which was a little strange as Ikki knew her tactics should have been to keep coming at him while he held his breath. Instead, she was keeping her distance and attacked irregularly and didn't stay in close quarter combat for long. Ikki knew she must have been trying something as close quarter combat against him was a waste.

After a little longer, just like with the River's technique, he started to feel a little strange. This time though was different, rather than dehydrated-he felt like what he could only describe as drugged. Everything looked and felt slower and he felt like his mind was really tiny inside his head and then he noticed Cobra Lilly laugh, "It seems you are under my trap finally." Ikki looked around; things seemed to be happening all around him that he wasn't even realising. Sound went in and out as well as his vision which occasionally blurred. He was definitely caught in the Cobra Lilly.

Ikki saw her in front of him and he knew he needed to create some distance and began backing off in the other direction only to cop a huge shot from behind by what seemed to be an invisible force. His vision went in and out and he could see Cobra Lilly fading in and out and from what he could tell it was an illusion and what had just hit him was the real Cobra Lilly that was masked by her poison trap. This must be part of her technique and then he could hear her voice in his head. "This is why I am Cobra Lilly, after the carnivorous plant that leads its prey right to where it wants to before showing it numerous escape routes that are all part of the plan to wear it down and finish it off. Before when you wiped the goo onto your shirt, there was so much of the substance so that the aroma could directly go into your mouth. You may have been holding your breath around me, but it was when you were at a distance you had to breath and sucked up all of it that I purposely left for you." He was in a very dangerous situation all of a sudden and he saw an image of Cobra Lilly coming towards him and he wasn't sure if it was the real one or another illusion from her fumes which he had obviously inhaled. He stood up and prepared himself but couldn't stop getting hit convincingly and being dropped.

When things were the worst, Ikki stood up from the ground and smiled. Even though he was caught in the trap of an A Class rider and he still smiled. She couldn't help but stop dead, "Why do you smile at your end?"

"Because this is exactly where I wanted to be." Ikki charged at Cobra Lilly keeping as much of his wits about him as possible. He had shut down everything in his mind in hopes of finishing this bitch off and sending her back down off the platform and ending her time in this match. His mind was not sharp and his vision and senses were still playing up on him. Cobra Lilly prepared herself, "You are caught in the trap so you are trying to charge straight out with pure power. Indeed it is a very good solution and if anyone could do it, it is you Wind King, but I am afraid you cannot-not this time." Cobra Lilly watched as Ikki came at her and all of a sudden the image of him vanished as if it were a ghost. She was so shocked and surprised she wasn't ready for the real Ikki to come from nowhere and connect a huge shot right to her face. Ikki caught his breath, still feeling some of the effects from her technique. "You think I am dumb enough to get caught in your trap, I am a genius after all."

The whole time that Ikki had been moving, he had the wind around him constantly blowing the aroma away so that he wouldn't get the full devastation of it and even be able to reverse some it against his opponent. He had made his own wind use her fume technique against her and she had never seen this one coming. She had thought the whole time that there was a way out, when in fact she was the trapped one from her own move. This costed her dearly and Ikki tackled her straight off the platform at such a great force that they both went over. As if in slow motion, Ikki looked at Malin on the way down and smiled. 'It is all on you now Odysseus and nobody else-what will you do now', he hit the bottom with a thud and Kazu was the first one in his corner to see if he was ok.


	10. Odysseus vs the River

It had come down to two fighters in this match, Malin-Odysseus against the River. Malin realised that Ikki must have been planning this the entire time-for it to be just them left on the field. He knew that Malin had a score to settle and a point to prove to everybody and himself. The Wind King must have seen something in him to trust him with this match and he looked over at his opponent. They had both been in this situation before and memories of that fight kept running through his head. "This is the best possible way for this fight to end," said the River. "You put so much pressure on yourself to rise above the expectations your dad has placed on you that you cannot beat me."

"My dad never put any expectation on me; he has given me every ounce of his knowledge so that I may someday never be beaten-it is your expectation that will be the death of you. The River that supplies hope and life to the whole team will run dry if used up too quickly. You are only a river; you are not even an ocean." For the first time Malin talked to one of his opponents, and it seemed to have stung him. "I don't need to be hurt by that, I already know what your special moves are. Your Tornado Air 900 will most likely be the only thing I need to watch out for, because your Freeze Frame move will not work against someone more skilled than you. Your Conceal ability also relies on a teammate being next to you-like you in general, always relying on others."

The River charged at him and Malin watched carefully trying to see more than what normal people could. Looking at every part of his body to judge which way he was going to go.

River threw shots at him knowing full well he wouldn't connect that easy, Malin was able to block and dodge them all but not finding a good opening to get on the offensive at all. The River was a little more skilled in close combat with his combinations and he wanted to keep the tempo up. But the longer it went for; Malin could begin to see some more openings in his opponent. The River backed off to catch his breath but Malin followed him. The River was surprised Malin attacked so aggressively as it was unlike him at all. Malin swung a shot and River blocked it, but he didn't stop the true opening that Malin had seen. The River was very lazy and Malin knew this, which was why he would be able to stop a simple shot head on, but leave his open side vulnerable. He had left his other side completely open to a kick from Malin. The River needed to use every ounce of his speed and agility to get out of harms way and make some distance between them. Malin watched him and felt confident, he felt as if he could go forever.

"How can you keep fighting?" River asked Malin, being very tired and seeing Malin who wasn't nearly as exhausted as what he should have been.

"The River doesn't fuel itself, it relies on the rain and the ocean for more water so without your suit working to dehydrate me-you gain no advantage." The River seemed shocked and realised the entire time he had been trying to dehydrate Malin that his suit hadn't even been working. He took off his jacket to see holes in it and completely stopping its ability to absorb the moisture out of the air and store it. "How…When did you…?" River remembered back a little bit in the fight. When he had charged at Ikki and Malin got in the way, Ikki ended up behind him without him noticing. Did that mean…?

Malin watched him and began smiling, "It seems like you have figured it out. You thought you were free from me using my **Conceal **ability on you and you didn't even realise that I had already used it on you to take away your biggest weapon.

"_My biggest move is my conceal ability," said Malin to Ikki and Agito the night before. "It involves my using my riding ability and a supersonic sound in my AT and a lighting created by the glow of the wheels to distract a particular rider. When I use it though, it can temporarily give one of my teammate's invisibility-as they the opponents mind becomes completely unaware of their presence as they are focused on me. This is my signature move back home and they will know of it."_

"_We can use that to our advantage," said Ikki. "When it comes to the time when we are on our real opponent most likely on the change over you will create an opening for me and I will be able to stop his suit from working. We will only get one shot and won't even be able to plan it, we will just have to know when the right time is. But you will be the distraction and I will stop him using his ability-then the rest will be up to you." _

The Tokyo Reds watching on the field realised his ability now. When they were originally chasing the two Australian riders and their fastest was taken down from a shot they couldn't see. It was because all their attention was focused on Malin who was creating an opening for Blake and his reflexes to take him down. Indeed a scary ability.

"You see, my ability doesn't rely on my ability alone-it utilises everyone's ability and makes it more powerful than anything you can do on your own. Ikki was able to use his wind to cut through your suit and put it out of action without you even knowing about it." Because the wind had cut through, the water stored within it had slowly evaporated out and this suddenly made the fight very interesting. The River tried to smile it off, he was still the favourite to win on his status alone and readied himself.

As if reading each others thoughts, the River and Malin raced towards each other with a fury in their stride. The crowd was getting really into the match and didn't know who was going to take it out from here. Malin threw a shot and the River ducked underneath it and got a shot to his ribs, taking the air out of him and dropping him. While on the ground, River tried to bring a hammer shot down from on top of him but Malin rolled out of the way and swept himself around tripping the River up. Malin backed off while the River quickly got up from the ground.

Malin watched carefully, knowing full well he was going to increase the pace of the match. The River did just as he thought and began riding around very quickly, rather than wait for him, Malin began riding along with him. He was nowhere near as fast as he was, but because of his anticipation, he could see through his movements. He kept a close eye on him, trying to keep him within his sights and predict which way he was going to go. Then noticing something, he knew the River was going for one of his moves. River began moving swiftly from side to side about to use his **River Rapid Walk **ability.

"_River has this ability called the River Rapid Walk, which can create whitewash in the air like on the shore of a beach. Because of his movements which are very flowing and quick as well as the moisture that he absorbs out of the air. His side to side motions rolls air around with the water, creating the whitewash in the air that can completely hide his whole body within it. When you see this happen, you got to know he is most likely trying to finish it and be ready for anything that can happen." _

By creating whitewash in the air, it neutralised Malin's ability to anticipate what he was going to do. Malin kept his eyes firmly fixed on River trying to find him within his ability, and suddenly turned his ankles out-screeching on the platform and bringing him to a stop using very high class breaking ability. The River went straight passed him and concentrating one last time-Malin took off again with as much acceleration as possible but in the opposite direction. The whitewash form of River was going on way, but the real River wasn't underneath it-the real one was coming from behind using his technique as a distraction to knock him off the platform. Malin, even though he never saw this, knew this was going to happen and had trusted himself to use his **Freeze Frame **ability at the right time. It had worked and the River was caught in it. He zoomed straight at the River who couldn't move his body from the pressure Malin had placed on him but being aware of everything in his mind. Malin mustered all the strength he had into the shot that would send the River off the platform bringing victory to the Kogara-Magpies against the Southern Snipers.

Kogarasumaru cheered while the Reds went berserk. Ikki walked over to the River on the ground, "As I said, the worst thing is fighting someone with a purpose and because you didn't want to meet me head on you thought he would be the easier option and lost because of it. oh and by the way, didn't you ever read the story of Odysseus and his great odyssey. Over his long voyage, he met many perils but the one that gave him the most trouble was the sea, even Poseidon-God of the Ocean hated Odysseus and it didn't matter how many times he tried he couldn't kill him. Odysseus could never be bested by the water." He left the River there and walked over to Malin where Blake was already attending to him in his state of euphoria and fatigue. "You knew he couldn't resist finishing you off like last time. You had all your attention drawn to his whitewash so he knew you would be vulnerable from behind. You trusted your instincts over your vision and won." Just like when Odysseus gave the Cyclops wine before blind siding him-Malin had done the same. He offered the chance to River to increase his status and ego and he wasn't able to see through his attack plan.


	11. Conclusion

The match had ended and the Kogara-Mapie alliance had won against the Southern Snipers in a C Class Battle. However, things were starting to get real dangerous at the home ground of the Reds who were supporting the Snipers. Just like the match against Behemoth-the Reds were getting very aggressive and rowdy. This time though, Agito was a little more worried as he hadn't organised with W.I.N.D or anyone else to come to their aid. Malin and Blake looked around and they made a formation with Kogarasumaru to be ready for the numerous amounts of enemies to come in at them.

"_There will be trouble tomorrow after we win," Ikki said the night before. "There will have to be." _

"_I know the Snipers will try what we spoke of before-but will the Reds get involved, it doesn't really concern them," said Malin naively. The riders back home in Australia and New Zealand were much different and although they rode with passion-they rode for glory rather than for supremacy. AT was a way of life here and people were willing to die for their way of life, which was something they struggled to get their minds around. "Yes there will be trouble and it doesn't matter if it is their business, was it ours to help you out in the first place?" This was a fair point, they would already be dead if it wasn't for Ikki and Kogarasumaru. "Will the kings from Genesis help you?" Agito asked Ikki._

"_I wouldn't think so; they in a position of responsibility cannot be easily persuaded to make a decision like that. They know everything they do has repercussions so they will do nothing." _

They could see the Kings up high watching and as Ikki had predicted were doing nothing. Even Ringo was watching and couldn't do anything-Malin could see her face, he knew she wanted to just by her eyes but she was thinking about the rest of her team and held her position. Malin was nervous again and very worried. He looked over and Blake who he could also see was worried but covering it up as best as he could. What filled him with confidence this time was Ikki who even after fighting stood strong and showed no signs of weakness. He was probably still affected by Cobra Lilly's toxic fumes that cause hallucinations but still he looked confident. He looked over at Malin, "What do you see Odysseus?" He trusted Malin enough here to make a very important move for their escape.

Malin looked over at the riders, scanning their body positions, facial expressions and group movements. He looked as hard as he could get as much data on them as possible and being able to make a judgement from it, "It seems they are going to attack, but they are waiting for something. They will not let us escape until whatever they have waited for gets here."

Ikki nodded, "It is just as we thought."

"What do you see?" Malin asked knowing Ikki could see everything about an environment they were in-taking in every single detail. If anyone could choose the quickest or the safest route out right now it was him. Malin watched Ikki as he looked around scanning the environment. There were four possible exit routes-all of them having some kind of gang members there blocking the way, but some more heavily than others.

"You think you guys can keep up," he finally said. Ikki didn't even wait for a response but took off. Malin and Blake did their best to follow and Kazu, Onigiri and Buccha covered them from behind. Buccha needed extra help as his hands were busy carrying Agito who was still unconscious from the loss of blood. It seemed though that they had been able to stop the bleeding temporarily, but he needed medical attention quickly and this situation wasn't doing him any favours.

It only really dawned on Malin how much Ikki could see then. The path they were taking was a very interesting one-making it appear they were taking one and readjusting their lines when the Reds tried to block it. They were really going out the side exit even though it looked like they were going to try and barge through the front. Ikki could plan his way out of any situation and under such pressure it really was a sight to see. The Reds had come after them and Malin could see they were still waiting for something. There were pathways that lead straight out of the school ground and this path would be their salvation. Then Malin caught something, he saw the Snipers they had just fought coming to the front and he noticed something. "Look out everyone," he managed to call out before 5 more Southern Snipers they hadn't seen yet came from nowhere. They had been lying in wait the entire time to ambush them with the Reds all along and with the match they just had with the support from the Japanese team-they easily had the advantage.

Everyone stopped and now the situation was very bad. River came to the front, "It doesn't matter if you won, we were sent here to take out two Magpie riders while their team isn't here and we are going to do that. It seems like none of the other riders' are going to help you here." They all attacked at once, ready for anything Kogarasumaru or the Magpie riders threw at them. They had been so worried about those they were attacking they hadn't even considered the possibility of reinforcements and that this had been a plan from the beginning.

All of a sudden, the riders were being dropped like flies. One group was sent flying backwards by an invisible force that they could only describe as concentrated air acted like a mini explosion and created a massive gap in their attack. Through this gap came two riders dressed in black. They came through the gap and with extraordinary flexibility and athleticism struck at as many riders as they could, having the element of surprise and taking out a lot in the one go. Two more riders appeared one of them yelling and screaming, which froze everybody in their place to allow one of them to hit them while they stood there frozen from the verbal technique. Malin looked at the River who was horrified, "This is impossible, how can you be here?" The mystery riders came to a stop and it was indeed those from back in Australia from the Westside Magpies. They were pumped for a fight and seemed to hate that their job the entire time was to wait for the ambush and come to the rescue rather than take part in the match-but it was the job to their teammates. "Like we couldn't handle you guys back home to come here to kick your ass as well," one of them said.

"You forgot one thing," Malin said. "Magpies always come to their allies aid and you better watch out because it doesn't matter if we are down or behind-we are never out." Ikki and Kogarasumaru were so pumped at the Magpies and their mateship to each other. The Magpie riders didn't have to hold out because they had no affairs in Japan and could do whatever they wanted with almost no consequences. Ikki came forward, "Do you remember what you said to Malin when you first got here about teamwork? You said it was only an excuse to never take responsibility for yourself, but why you will never beat this team is because like a chain they hang together rather than your team that falls separately."

In that moment the Snipers seemed to be too scared to attack and even the Reds didn't want to move anymore. They created a passageway for them all to leave the grounds safely and back to Ikki's house. They were all together and had made it through the difficult time and they celebrated when they got back with sake and food and partied for the entire night. The next morning though, it was time for them to leave and it was an emotional goodbye. Ikki had tears in his eyes as well as Malin, "You take care of yourself and you guys are both good riders and with the experience you got here-you will certainly rise above the rest." Malin and Blake thanked them for their hospitality,

"One day you should come to Australia and ride with us, maybe a friendly match or something." Malin and Blake left the house and Malin looked onto the roof to see Agito staring at him. Malin didn't take him for an emotional person so he waved and turned to leave. "To free yourself from the expectation of others, you need self respect," Agito called out to him as he got into his taxi cab to take him to the airport. Malin knew what he meant and it was probably the most supportive thing Agito had ever said to anybody-but it meant he believed in him enough to say it. They got into the cab and they left.

Ikki watching from the front veranda smiled to himself, he hoped one day he would become the real Sky King and then he could see what kind of rider Malin would become. Then a real alliance could be put into place, one with the Sky King and the Seer King.


End file.
